scholarly journals University Managed Minds: The Colonial Reproduction of Students as Mental Health Problems

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Tanya Titchkosky ◽  
Madeleine De Welles
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Student Difficulties ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Colonial Theory ◽  
Mental Health Programs ◽  
Administrative Task ◽  
The University

This paper, informed by disability studies and de-colonial theory, examines the appearance of the counselling paradigm in the University of Toronto administrative archive. We begin from the assumption that an administrative treatment of the general student body as potentially disordered is a disabling orientation which makes student difficulties into individual problems to be managed through a mental health orientation. We show how this form of human resource management through the mental health regime is essentially tied to the “coloniality of power” as theorized by Mignolo. Such an analysis allows us to uncover the colonial machine from which the Modern University sprung as it remains hidden in place. We theorize how these mental health programs developed through the coloniality of our past are very much part of our present making the student body always potentially disabled and thus an administrative task to be governed while perpetuating Eurocentric ways of knowing, governing, and being.

Student Learners and Preferred Agents in Mental Health-Seeking: Assessing Higher Educational Services in a Pilot Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-328
Author(s):  
KENNETH CRAMER ◽  
EMILY SCHUURMAN ◽  
JORDYNNE ROPAT
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Counseling Centers ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Student Body ◽  
School Time ◽  
Student Counseling ◽  
The University

ABSTRACT The prevalence of mental health problems among student learners has increased in recent decades. University and college expectations, plus the requirement for effective time management (among other things), may significantly augment this problem. School assessment practices and learning demands may give rise to anxiety and depression within the student body, ultimately affecting both their psychological and academic outcomes. We considered the agencies that students typically approached in various daily situations (e.g., where do students turn with issues related to time management or personal adjustment and anxiety – Google, parents, best friends, professors, on-campus counseling centers). A sample of 103 students from the University of Windsor in Southwestern Ontario Canada indicated which of 15 agencies they would consult, should they encounter each of 50 scenarios related to broader categories (14 in total) such as death, school, time constraints, relationship, sexual harassment, etc. The non-use of Google and the under-utilization of the peer support and student counseling centers are discussed, as are the implications for university and college administrations' consideration of student mental health issues.

63. Developing a program for resident wellness at the postgraduate medical education office, University of Torontos

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Edwards ◽  
S. Verma ◽  
R. Zulla
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Residency Training ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Postgraduate Medical Education ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Resident Wellness ◽  
The University

Prevalence of stress-related mental health problems in residents is equal to, or greater than, the general population. Medical training has been identified as the most significant negative influence on resident mental health. At the same time, residents possess inadequate stress management and general wellness skills and poor help-seeking behaviours. Unique barriers prevent residents from self-identifying and seeking assistance. Stress management programs in medical education have been shown to decrease subjective distress and increase wellness and coping skills. The University of Toronto operates the largest postgraduate medical training program in the country. The Director of Resident Wellness position was created in the Postgraduate Medical Education Office to develop a systemic approach to resident wellness that facilitates early detection and intervention of significant stress related problems and promote professionalism. Phase One of this new initiative has been to highlight its presence to residents and program directors by speaking to resident wellness issues at educational events. Resources on stress management, professional services, mental health, and financial management have been identified and posted on the postgraduate medical education website and circulated to program directors. Partnerships have been established with physician health professionals, the University of Toronto, and the Professional Association of Residents and Internes of Ontario. Research opportunities for determining prevalence and effective management strategies for stress related problems are being identified and ultimately programs/resources will be implemented to ensure that resident have readily accessible resources. The establishment of a Resident Wellness Strategy from its embryonic stags and the challenges faced are presented as a template for implementing similar programs at other medical schools. Earle L, Kelly L. Coping Strategies, Depression and Anxiety among Ontario Family Medicine Residents. Canadian Family Physician 2005; 51:242-3. Cohen J, Patten S. Well-being in residency training: a survey examining resident physician satisfaction both within and outside of residency training and mental health in Alberta. BMC Medical Education; 5(21). Levey RE. Sources of stress for residents and recommendations for programs to assist them. Academic Med 2001; 70(2):142-150.

Student mental health and the general practitioner

1975 ◽  
Vol 13 (25) ◽  
pp. 99-100
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
General Practitioner ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Student Health ◽  
Student Health Services ◽  
The University

Although most universities run a health service, students with important mental health problems are often seen by their general practitioner. There are a number of reasons for this; first, health services in the colleges of higher education outside universities are still patchy and incomplete. Second, students are on vacation for up to 24 weeks a year. Third, a student may choose to consult anyone, and may prefer someone unconnected with the university. Last, many students live at home and continue to see their general practitioner. This underlines the need for close liason between the general practitioner and student health services.

Mentors and mountainboarding: The development and delivery of an innovative program for rural adolescent males at risk of mental health problems

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-10
Author(s):  
Candice P. Boyd ◽  
Evan Kemp ◽  
Toula Filiadis ◽  
Damon Aisbett ◽  
Martin Markus
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Adolescent Males ◽  
Psychological Help ◽  
Rural Adolescents ◽  
Innovative Program ◽  
Mental Health Programs ◽  
Socially Excluded ◽  
Rural Adolescent

Sense of belonging to a community offers protection against depression (Glover et al. 1998); however, rural adolescents with mental health issues often feel isolated, lonely and socially excluded (Aisbett et al. 2007). This is exacerbated by the stoic attitudes and fear of social stigma which prevent many rural adolescents from engaging with mainstream mental health programs (Boyd et al. 2006). With this knowledge, we aimed to engage atrisk rural adolescent males who would otherwise not seek psychological help in an innovative program which would link them to a broader sporting community. The project also aimed to strengthen leaders of this community to act as mentors for these young people. In this article, we describe the development and delivery of the mentoring component of this innovative program. The outcomes for the youth involved in this program are described in the subsequent article by Kemp and colleagues in the next edition of Children Australia.

scholarly journals Wellness and resilience for college and beyond: protocol for a quasi-experimental pilot study investigating a dialectical behaviour therapy skill-infused college course

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e036833
Author(s):  
Carla D. Chugani ◽  
Barbara Fuhrman ◽  
Kaleab Z. Abebe ◽  
Janine Talis ◽  
Elizabeth Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Learning Collaborative ◽  
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy ◽  
University Of Pittsburgh ◽  
College Course ◽  
The University

IntroductionCollege students’ mental health problems and suicidal behaviour are serious, persistent and prevalent public health issues. With the need for mental health support greatly exceeding the availability of on-campus treatment, a recent trend on college campuses is to offer courses designed to teach students strategies for developing mental health or resilience. While these courses are exceptionally popular among students, a paucity of research investigates the health outcomes associated with participation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a college course grounded in skills from dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) titled, ‘Wellness and Resilience for College and Beyond’.Methods and analysisDuring the spring and fall 2020 semesters, the course will be offered on five campuses in Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The course consists of 15 weekly 2.5-hour lessons, weekly homework assignments and a final examination with content drawn from DBT, acceptance and commitment therapy and positive psychology. Undergraduate students aged 18–24 will self-select into the course and control subjects receiving ‘university as usual’ will be recruited to serve as a comparison group. Students who receive the course will complete measures of course acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. All study participants will complete measures of adaptive coping skills use, emotion dysregulation and suicidality.Ethics and disseminationAll of the study procedures were approved as an exempt protocol for evaluation of educational curricula by the University of Pittsburgh Human Research Protections Office (HRPO); the study was approved as a research study by the institutional review board (IRB) of the fifth study site. The University of Pittsburgh HRPO served as the IRB of record for all except one study site, which required standard IRB review. Data from this study will be disseminated via conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and via our online stakeholder learning collaborative.Trial registration numberNCT04338256.

Anxiety, Depression and Suicidal Behavior Among Medical Students from the University of Valladolid

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S290-S290 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Alvarez Astorga ◽  
M.H. De la Red Gallego ◽  
A. Alonso Sánchez ◽  
S. De la Fuente Ballesteros ◽  
T. Delgado Santillana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Time Data ◽  
The University

IntroductionSuicide is a major public health problem, especially in young people. It is one of the most significant causes of mortality and potential years of life lost. Medical students are a vulnerable group presenting mental health problems.ObjectivesTo study the prevalence of common mental illnesses among medical students from the university of Valladolid in order to assess the need for intervention programs.MethodsCross-sectional study in which, 584 students participated during the academic year 2015–2016 by completing an online self-administered questionnaire. Mental health outcomes were measured by different batteries of depression, anxiety and suicide (BDI, GAD-7 and MINI). Information about possible related risk factors was also obtained. Statistical Chi2 and Student t-tests were applied to estimate associations between socio-demographic, socioeconomic data and clinical results.ResultsWe found a prevalence of 15.8% for depression, 11.6% for ideation suicide and 38.5% for anxiety, with gender differences in the latter case. Prevalence rates were higher than those described in general population. Compared to other international studies, prevalence estimates were also higher among our sample.ConclusionsThis study shows for the first time data of these three psychiatric disorders among medical students in Spain. It suggests the urge to implementing preventive activities to alleviate maladaptive behaviors, academic stress, improve the quality of life and adaptation of students to college life. Larger, prospective, multicentre studies are needed to draw conclusions about the causes and consequences of students’ stress, since evidence shows that mental health problems are perpetuated throughout professional performance.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals How can we help PhD students cope with mental health issues and drop-out? An extensive analysis of discourse.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Lemée ◽  
Flores Pierre ◽  
Boisselier Jeanne ◽  
Mary Guillard ◽  
Vincent Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The University

Abstract There is a growing concern regarding the increase of the mental health problems among PhD students worldwide. This problem is worrying, and it remains a major issue for research teams and labs. However, the particularity of this environment has not been explored in consistent enough ways to provide a clear way forward for universities and health services to answer this problem. Therefore, we carried out a large online survey and collected 480 testimonies on health issues and work conditions from doctoral students and young doctors. Our aim was to identify levers and key factors for intervention. A lexicometric analysis of the discourse was carried out, using the Iramuteq package for R. Results highlight a need to intervene at different levels, in terms of instruction, prevention, care and follow-up to reduce mental health problems among PhD students. It also highlights the perceived importance of the university and feeling of belonging to a community as possible factors to reduce these problems and reduce drop out probability. More than anything, the study reveals that there are no differences in the discourse of doctoral students according to their field, which reveals the generality of these processes.

scholarly journals Burnout, does the university entrance test failing attribute? A Bangladeshi exploratory study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258100
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Mamun ◽  
Mariam Binte Safiq ◽  
Ismail Hosen ◽  
Firoj al Mamun
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
Repeat Test ◽  
Entrance Test ◽  
The University

Getting admission into a university is highly competitive globally and can be regarded as a mental stressor for some individuals. In Bangladesh, most of the universities allow students to repeat the test, whereas repeat test-taking students are supposed to suffer from psychological issues like burnout because of academic non-achievement in their first attempt. But there is no prior study assessing burnout to the population, which was investigated herein. A cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 911 Bangladeshi university entrance test-taking students (i.e., 49.5% first-time test-takers). The survey measures included socio-demographics, admission-related issues, and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and burnout). Of the mental health problems, depression, anxiety, and burnout were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7), and Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey (MBI–SS), respectively. In light of two-dimensional and three-dimensional cutoff schemes of the MBI—SS, about 43.7% and 17.3% of the test-taking students, respectively, were classified to be burnout in the total sample. Additionally, 48.1%, 71.4%, and 49.1% of the students in the total sample reported higher emotional exhaustion, higher cynicism, and lower academic efficacy, respectively. In respect to the student status, two-dimensional burnout (48.0% vs. 39.2%; χ2 = 7.164, p = 0.007), and emotional exhaustion (52.2% vs. 43.9%, χ2 = 6.789, p = 0.034) were significantly higher among the repeat test-taking students. Satisfaction with previous mock tests, depression, and anxiety were the associated factors of burnout in all three samples. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that the university entrance test appearing students are highly prevalent to burnout, and the rate increases with academic non-achievement. As the first study assessing burnout to the population, the findings are anticipated to be helpful for policymaking and further studies both inside and outside Bangladesh.

scholarly journals Privacy Issues in the Development of a Virtual Mental Health Clinic for University Students: A Qualitative Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Gulliver ◽  
Kylie Bennett ◽  
Anthony Bennett ◽  
Louise M Farrer ◽  
Julia Reynolds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
User Preferences ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Mental Health Clinic ◽  
The University ◽  
Privacy Issues ◽  
Virtual Clinic

Background There is a growing need to develop online services for university students with the capacity to complement existing services and efficiently address student mental health problems. Previous research examining the development and acceptability of online interventions has revealed that issues such as privacy critically impact user willingness to engage with these services. Objective To explore university student perspectives on privacy issues related to using an online mental health service within the context of the development of an online, university-based virtual mental health clinic. Methods There were two stages of data collection. The first stage consisted of four 1.5-hour focus groups conducted with university students (n=19; 10 female, 9 male, mean age = 21.6 years) to determine their ideas about the virtual clinic including privacy issues. The second stage comprised three 1-hour prototype testing sessions conducted with university students (n=6; 3 male, 3 female, mean age = 21.2 years) using participatory design methods to develop and refine a service model for the virtual clinic and determine student views on privacy within this context. Results The students raised a number of issues related to privacy in relation to the development of the university virtual clinic. Major topics included the types of personal information they would be willing to provide (minimal information and optional mental health data), concern about potential access to their personal data by the university, the perceived stigma associated with registering for the service, and privacy and anonymity concerns related to online forums contained within the virtual clinic. Conclusions Students would be more comfortable providing personal information and engaging with the virtual clinic if they trust the privacy and security of the service. Implications of this study include building the clinic in a flexible way to accommodate user preferences.

scholarly journals Factor structure of the University Personality Inventory in Japanese medical students

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norio Sugawara ◽  
Norio Yasui-Furukori ◽  
Masayuki Sayama ◽  
Kazutaka Shimoda
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
University Admission ◽  
The University

Abstract Background The age of onset for most mental disorders is typically young adulthood, and the university setting is an important one for addressing mental health. The University Personality Inventory (UPI), which was developed to detect mental health problems in university students, is widely used for screening in Japan. However, there have been limited reports on the factor structure of the UPI based on a statistical test for binary indicators. The objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of the UPI in Japanese medical students. Methods This study examined the factor structure of the UPI in a sample of 1185 Japanese medical students at the time of university admission. The students were divided into subgroup A (n = 589) and subgroup B (n = 596) according to their year of university admission. Based on tetrachoric correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with promax rotation was applied to explore the dimensions of the inventory in subgroup A. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then conducted to verify the dimensions in subgroup B. Results The EFA with categorical variables yielded four factors in subgroup A. These factors, accounting for 48.9% of the variance, were labeled “Depression and Irritability”, “Anxiety and Persecutory Belief”, “Physical Symptoms”, and “Dependence”. The new four-factor structure showed good fit, and traditional factor structures previously reported were replicated via CFA. The internal consistency reliability was good for the overall UPI scale (alpha = 0.97) and for its four new factors (alpha = 0.83–0.91). Conclusions The UPI is a valid and reliable measure that can be used to assess symptoms across four dimensions of mental health in university settings. These findings offer a starting point for the detection of individuals with mental health problems.

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